Santana to start for Mets on opening day

PORT ST. LUCIE - The New York Mets announced its pitching rotation Sunday morning, but the talk in the clubhouse was all about the hurler who will take the hill Thursday on opening day.

After a brief meeting with Johan Santana in his office, Mets manager Terry Collins confirmed that the former staff ace was ready to make his return from shoulder surgery performed nearly 19 months ago.

"After we talked to Johan yesterday after he threw, I walked by him and he said to me at the end, 'You've got your pitcher for Thursday,' " Collins said.

Santana will face the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field Thursday when the Mets open the 2012 campaign. The order for the remainder of the staff will be R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese, Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee.

Teammates congratulated the 33-year-old Venezuelan pitcher, who seemed to be visibly relieved from the rehabilitation process and jokingly requested from the media for a few days alone before the season-opening start.

"It means a lot," Santana said of getting the nod. "It means that everything we've done from surgery to today has paid off. We worked hard, and I'm very happy."

Collins will have a built-in luxury that will help with easing Santana into the mix. Six of the left-hander's first seven scheduled starts will include an extra day of rest simply because of the way New York's schedule unfolds.

Left fielder Jason Bay compared Santana's absence to the club losing former shortstop Jose Reyes, now roaming the middle infield for the Miami Marlins.

"(Johan) brings a lot of the same type of energy that Jose had brought. We obviously lost Jose and not having Johan around all year last year, so getting him back is getting the energy back," Bay said.

"It's almost like picking up another guy because you've missed him for the whole year. It's nice to have that back."

Gee said the club will immediately feel the impact of Santana's return.

"It's important to see him back," Gee said. "Everyone wanted to see Johan on opening day. The prestige of (seeing) Johan on opening day is a benchmark."